Re: Sharp Practice
I was looking at a whiteboard recently and found this one on Amazon. It doesn't sound too bad it's £10 for an A3 size and has the capability to be hung from a wall with two hooks. The optional installation is listed as £48.
I have had this slightly in reverse from Currys they'd tried to sting me for set up fees and I said no. I did say that I'd be very interested if it was possible to get a machine without an OS loaded. They were a bit confused by this and told me that I couldn't load my own OS at which point I told them they'd lost a sale.
In another store (I can't remember if it was Currys or not) I wanted to buy my first flatscreen TV. I was told the price for the TV, the bracket, the cables, the installation and the delivery. Enthusiastic sales bloke tells me they had several delivery slots coming up. I couldn't work out what the installation charge was for and so I asked. It was for attaching the TV to the wall and attaching cables neither of which I needed. So I politely declined and said I was going to put it on a unit I already had. I also don't therefore need the bracket the cables or installation.
This was not the correct answer as he told me that the TV would be too low for viewing. I said my perfect location for a TV* was where the eyes of the viewer i.e. me was in the centre or just below it of the TV. There was no way to install the TV at that height given what would be on the wall behind it so I dibn't need it installing. Again the installation is pushed, this time though it was just the cabling and (expensive gold plated) cables he was pushing. I declined this again saying I made my own aerial cables out of CTF100 and had a stock of fully wired Scart and cables doing nothing. I also knew how to wire up a TV to my hifi, DVD etc. and the aerial socket. He gave up and sold me just the TV. It was the same price for both forms of this "installation" which was a real rip off.
*Except in the bedroom where it's higher up to facilitate watching lying down.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
